What’s New in Android 15? Key Features and Developer Changes

After months of developer previews and beta releases, Android 15 is now officially available. Its source code has been added to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and will roll out to supported Pixel devices in the coming weeks, followed by devices from Samsung, Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

New user‑facing updates include TalkBack screen reader support powered by Gemini, Chrome’s read‑aloud feature, and an earthquake‑alert system that uses crowdsourced detection to warn users before tremors occur.

The update is organized into four main categories: Typography and Internationalization, Camera and Media, User Experience, and Privacy & Security.

Typography and Internationalization

Variable‑font FontFamily instances can now be created without specifying wght and ital axes; the text renderer automatically adjusts these values.

NotoSansCJK is now a variable font, opening new creative typographic possibilities.

Japanese Hiragana and Hentaigana fonts are bundled by default, aiding artistic design and preservation of historic texts.

Improved alignment for languages that use spaces to separate characters, such as Chinese and Japanese.

Camera and Media

HDR‑compatible screens can use setDesiredHdrHeadroom to prevent SDR content from appearing washed out.

Smart volume and dynamic‑range compression for apps handling AAC audio with loudness metadata, adapting to device and environment.

Low‑light enhancement adjusts preview exposure in dim conditions.

Better flash intensity control in SINGLE and TORCH modes.

Support for virtual MIDI 2.0 devices, behaving like USB MIDI 2.0 devices.

User Experience

Users can now save split‑screen app combinations and pin the taskbar for improved multitasking.

Apps targeting SDK 35 default to edge‑to‑edge display, with transparent or semi‑transparent system bars drawn behind content.

Privacy and Security

Private spaces let users hide apps behind authentication.

Support for key‑based login and automatic credential autofill.

Apps can detect if they are being recorded and notify users during sensitive tasks.

The new allowCrossUidActivitySwiftFromBelow attribute blocks activities whose UID does not match the top of the stack, preventing task‑hijacking attacks.

PendingIntent creators now default to blocking background activity launches, reducing the risk of malicious activity creation.

Developer Experience Updates

Android Studio, Jetpack Compose, and other Android Jetpack libraries receive enhancements. ApplicationStartInfo API provides insights into app launch reasons, phases, timing, and temperature.

Analysis classes in Android Jetpack enable heap analysis, heap dumps, stack sampling, and system tracing. StorageStats.getAppBytesByDataType() API offers deeper visibility into app storage usage.

New PdfRenderer API features, OpenJDK API, SQLite API, and Canvas drawing capabilities.